Paul Erdos, that most prolific of mathematicians, was a life-long amphetamine addict. He made it to age 83, which isn't bad for an addict. He also didn't waste time opening or closing windows, or buttering his own toast.

The advice about having kids when you're young is good advice for men, too.

My kids were all out the door by the time I was in my mid 40s. Myrna and I had a fantastic decade of enjoying a great income and having the freedom to do what we wanted to do.

Whoring around for a while when you're a kid may be a necessary developmental stage for most young people, but if you haven't worn that out by the time you're in your mid 20s, you might have misplaced priorities.

Astro: They are "douchebags" because they do things consistently that you do not do? Or because they achieve more than you do? Is it the word "over" that bothers you? Interested in why you are offended by this group.

Astro: They are "douchebags" because they do things consistently that you do not do? Or because they achieve more than you do? Is it the word "over" that bothers you? Interested in why you are offended by this group.

"Overachiever" used to be an insult -- applied to kids in school who got grades that made them look smarter than they were. They worked extra hard to rack up achievements, cared too much about those outward marks of excellence... and just weren't really that excellent.

It was the opposite of underachiever -- someone getting worse grades than he "should" be getting.

It was more of an insult, in fact, to be called an overachiever than an underachiever.

Sorry, not buying it. It's not serious. IMO, real overachievers actually, you know, *achieve* something. This just seems like a flurry of meaningless busywork to create a false image of self-importance.

What does Penelope Trunk do exactly? Is she (or her readers) researching a cure for Alzheimer's? Is she coming up with the next Apple, inc, but in biotech?

I don't see any quality control here, just the vaguely narcissistic impulse of class z wannabe 'celebrity' cementing the "overachiever" concept in her head with yet another bit of entirely disposable content.

I hate to be all "High Expectations Asian Father" about this, but I consider even Mark Zuckerberg an underachiever, simply because he was capable of doing so much more with his brain.

What is a big career? Trunk writes about people wanting "big careers." What is that? Getting promoted a lot? Having lots of people in your office think you're very good at your office job? Having people in lots of offices think that? What is it?

I understand the goal of making money. I understand the goal of building a business that offers something worthwhile and provides people with their livelihoods. Big career doesn't sound like those though. What is it?

Marketing. Whenever I read any of Trunk's stuff -- including her personal horror stories -- I remind myself that she's in marketing.

Trunk started off in a software company. Go to any big successful software company and you'll find brilliant people doing difficult work and getting recognized for it because they like to do it. Trunks #10 applies to them.

The vain, list-making, sell-out, kleptomaniacs are driven by something else. Maybe that's why they take adderall.

No, I do many of those things too. Most people do. I just don't care what the general public thinks of my achievements; Trunk's analysis implies that they care so much! what other people think, and that they feel morally superior because they are overachievers - or at least they want the people around them to think they are. Big effing deal.Trunk makes these people sound like they still have that high school running-for-student-council mentality and that they use the word 'behoove' a lot. Douchebags.